Background: Following the adoption of a new constitution in 2003 and national elections in 2004, Afghanistan desperately needs to rebuild an infrastructure decimated by more than 20 years of civil unrest.

IRD in Afghanistan: In June 2004, IRD received the USAID-funded Human Resources and Logistical Support program (HRLS) contract, and in 2006 received a $58 million contract extension. Under the contract, IRD is responsible for providing human resources and logistical support services to USAID’s Office of Infrastructure, Energy and Engineering (OIEE) in Afghanistan. This support includes the provision of technical monitors for construction and reconstruction projects in the areas of transportation, schools and clinics rehabilitation, power, energy and water, and capacity building within Government of Afghanistan ministries.

Upon receiving the initial contract in June 2004, IRD rapidly established an HRLS team. In addition to a headquarters office building and two staff residence compounds in Kabul, as well as an office in Jalalabad set up in 2006, IRD’s team currently manages four field offices in Kandahar (south), Herat (west), Mazar-i-Sharif (north) and Gardez (east) with technical staff stationed in each regional office. Most of this essential startup effort was accomplished within the first three months of the contract, unusually fast for Afghanistan.

Twenty-two expatriate staff members and more than 180 national employees comprise four divisions of IRD: Transportation, Vertical Structures, Energy and Natural Resources, and Institutional Policy Reform and Capacity Building. The Transportation division is monitoring primary and secondary roads nationwide; the Vertical Structures division has supervised the construction and rehabilitation of more than 500 schools and clinics across the country to date; the Energy and National Resources division monitors power projects, irrigation and water projects, environmental assessment projects, and information-related projects aimed at increasing institutional capacity; the Institutional Policy Reform and Capacity Building division works closely with various ministries in planning, programming, and facility design to assist with the sustainability of ongoing USAID projects and ensure sound future growth.

IRD also provides support services such as housing and office space, communications, transportation, and security support. Other essential services include a full range of support in terms of recruitment, logistics, and finance and administration, and the startup phase of the Construction Trades Training and Construction Management Project vocational training program. The program has established a Construction Trades Training Center (CTTC) in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province and provides training to 160 skilled construction industry workers and managers each month.

Programs

• Human Resources and Logistical Support (HRLS)
• Construction Trades Training Center (CTTC)

Highlights

• IRD Sends Urgently-Needed Blankets and Other Supplies to Refugee Camps in Kabul
• IRD's Construction Trades Training Center in Afghanistan Becomes Sustainable
• IRD Staff Remains Upbeat Despite Destruction of Kabul Residence
• Signs of Spring in Afghanistan
• USAID Awards $58,000,000 Contract to IRD in Afghanistan
• International Business Executive Joins IRD Afghanistan Team
• IRD’s Team of Engineers Inspects Two Health Clinics in Northern Districts of Afghanistan
• IRD Awarded Contract for Construction Trades Training Center, Afghanistan

Press Releases

• Nine IRD Engineers in Afghanistan Given Award by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Contact
Gilbert Richard
Chief of Party, HRLS

Frederick Chase
Chief of Party, SPR

Kabul Office:
E-mail: grichard@afghanreconstruction.org

Jalalabad Office:
Victor Odegard
Construction Trainer
E-mail: vodegard@afghanreconstruction.org